I would think if you were full time you would be quite likely to take smaller money gigs during the week it all ads up at the end of the year
Just curious if you would quote on this event request or pass on it entirely?
- Thread starter DJ Ricky B
- Start date
I would think if you were full time you would be quite likely to take smaller money gigs during the week it all ads up at the end of the year
First things first. There are those who realize agreeing to do an event for their minimum price they charge can easily have potential clients looking at them as being desperate and not really worth their normal starting price. People seeing such DJs like that can hurt the DJ in the future.
I've personally never asked for referrals... they just come in. My philosophy has always been to get people talking about me and to deliver a service that is hard to forget. No one talks about average... they only remember really bad experiences or really amazing and unique experiences. I aim to provide that unique experience that is hard to forget and is the reason why I believe I get clients who saw me years ago and have never forgotten who I was. It also helps that nowadays instagram exists, where people can quickly follow you if they like you and if you post content consistently, you can remain relevant to them.
You are talking about 2 different things here Mix. First off unless it's referral most don't have any idea what your range is. Secondly there's a huge difference in a bar gig and a high end private event and a Karaoke show in someones living room. There's also a difference in a Tuesday and a Saturday event
What Ricky was talking about I agree 100%. There are those who feel if you don't charge as much as I do or close to my starting price you can't be a good DJ. You're either mediocre or just plain bad.
I don't like to judge a DJ unless I've seen them in person doing an event. In any business there will always be good and bad in the business they are in. Again like I've said in the past price alone doesn't tell if a DJ is good or bad. A DJ can charge well over 1K. That doesn't mean that DJ is a really good. It just may mean that DJ knows how to sell themselves to get paid over 1K.
Instead of worrying about what someone else is doing or not doing, what about what you're doing?
It’s not straight out asking for referrals, it’s a subtle mention in casual conversation.
I haven't asked in a very long time. Probably 10+ years. I used to ask venue managers/owners if I could leave them a stack of business cards, and to please refer me if they mentioned if I did a good job. Last time I did that was probably 2013.
What I do now, is the venues where the manager or owner personally comes to me and invited me to their open house, OR asks me specifically for biz cards to hand out are the ones I focus attention to (As long as I also enjoyed working there). Every venue on my list at some point this happened in the past.
I don't follow up with clients via email. IF they email me, and say how awesome of a time they had and how great a job I did, then I respond simply saying that maybe I will see them again at a friend or family members wedding in the future. My take is that if they took the time to email me and thank me, they will refer me in conversation to their peers when they know someone getting married.
The ones who also have a dancing video of their wedding also have that to share on youtube. I got an email last month from a couple I did a video for last year saying how much they enjoyed their day, and that they are glad I made a video of it that they just watched again almost 1 year later.
Referrals should not be primarily coming from venues. They should be coming from your past clients and guests in attendance spreading good stuff about you and your brand. Venue referrals from me are only helpful in instances where the couple is looking for something very specific such as a greek dj, a very particular presentation, or more hgih end than the typical dj, otherwise they're contacting me and 10 other dj's.
Now regardless what your clients say in the email, and what your take is... only one thing matters... what is the reality. Are you getting 50%+ of your events from word of mouth (past client referral, an attendee of a past event of yours, someone that saw you and mentioned you to someone else, venue referral, etc). That is the true gauge of the quality of the work you do relative to the price you charge.
I don't know about that. I have been told the opposite from older industry professionals. When I worked with the talent agency, their goal was to be the first entertainment company for venues and planners in the area to refer. The owner attended every networking event he could. They built their business on referrals from venues and planners in the region. Sure, they would get repeat customers, and general word of mouth referrals from previous clients, and take leads on wedding wire too, but the backbone of their business came from venue and planners referring them to new clients corporate and weddings.
I get a good chunk of my bookings from past customers referring me. However, those referrals aren't always the best. Often, they come in, and I am already booked on that date. Or they weren't expecting to spend as much at my price point. I had one earlier this year where I was referred from a wedding client from 2 years ago. The couple only had a budget of $1,100 and wasn't willing to go over it, and their wedding venue was a long drive. At least they contacted me, but they didn't want to spend $1650. That also told me they didn't look at my website first. Otherwise, they would have seen the pricing.
Also, a lot of my work are from families coming from other areas of the country or the couple coming from other areas. The DC area is very transient. If the couple is only getting married here, but live in Colorado for example, and their friends are out that way...I'm unlikely to get a referral from that couple. Many couples get married here because their parents are in the area, or just one of their parents and some relatives live here. The wedding I am doing this Saturday night, like 80% of the guests are staying at a local hotel because they flew in from other areas. The Groom's family is from Wisconsin. He chose to do a Polka song for the mother/son dance because of their family's heritage even though he knows very little about polka music or dancing to it himself. The bride's family is from all over, but they have some Italian in them. When I work at one of my preferred venues, the odds of the guests and the bride/groom being local Marylanders are much higher.
A referral from a venue is likely because you are convenient or easy to work with. A referral from a client is because you are good.
I am 90%+ referral and 90%+ of them are past clients. It's rare I play a wedding where I haven't played one for someone in the crowd
I’m exactly the same, I had a wedding this summer where I had 10 couples there that I had DJed their wedding, this was a 3rd generation wedding for me as I had done the brides mothers wedding as well as her grandmothers wedding,
Let's keep it as simple as possible. I don't know any DJ who does karaoke would agree to do that event. There maybe a newbie who needs to get their feet wet and do that event because they need the exposure.
If I did Karaoke I would gladly quote them...They then can say yes or no but it would be the same as any 4 hour event on a Saturday
I can't say I have done a 3rd Generation wedding yet I have done quite a few second and a bunch of 25, 30, and 35 Anniversary parties where I played the wedding years before. There are quite a few families I have done 10+ weddings for between Siblings, Cousins, etc not to mention other events like Birthdays etc
I don't do karaoke (because I can't sing), so I don't know what type of additional equipment is involved. If it was a standard dj gig with just music, I probably would have done it and quoted them 250-300 dollars. Like I've said before though, I'll cater to those smaller paying jobs if it fits into my schedule.